Players:
Summary: Julian dispenses some advice to Dallas.
Date: January 02, 2010
Midnight Mentoring
Rating: PG.
Xavier Mansion - Weight Room
All the weight machines are powered by hydraulics, you set the weight you want and your bench-pressing that many pounds, or even tons in some super strong students' cases. Punching bags, stair machines, bicycles, treadmills, weights, and anything found in your standard gym can be found here.
Dallas is running on the treadmill, set to a moderately step incline and the speed to a steady pace, somewhere north of a jog and south of an outright lope. There are faint sweat stains forming on his gray Xavier's t-shirt and his forehead and neck both shine a bit from perspiration as well. Apparently he's been at this a while. Dallas's breath comes in low, controlled exhalations and inhalations as he tries to keep the pace going as long as he can. Why he's doing it at somewhere close to three in the morning is anyone's guess, but the steady slap of shoes on the belt and the whirring, canvas-rippling noise of the treadmill itself is loud in the relative stillness.
Julian's been having some trouble sleeping as well, though for different reasons. The X-Force member looks over in the Weight room and looks around, recognizing someone there he'd met earlier, he approaches. "Dallas, right?" he asks, looking to the treadmill-running student. He's currently wearing some exercise clothes, nothing real special like his uniform or anything.
Dallas nods to Julian as he arrives, "Hey Julian." He tries to keep his voice fairly level as he says that, keeping the pace going. After a moment, he continues, "Yea, Dallas. What's up?" Given that he now has an audience, Dallas straightens up a little and tries to look as though he could keep up the pace all night.
Julian observes the new arrival to the school with a bit of an evaluating look. "More restless nights?" He asks, before looking up and starting to go on one next to it. The telekinetic starts off slow and gradually gets faster. He heard about the trouble the weight room has seen lately but doesn't really care on what had happened. It's the fact that it did happen, and he couldn't end the fight either way that he's not the happiest about.
Dallas shrugs and says, "First time away from home for this long." Which is true but not entirely accurate to the underlying question Julian asked. He watches as Julian sets his speed and starts, keeping his own speed up for the moment. Perhaps sensing something about the X-Forcer's mood, he pauses a moment before asking, "So, um, something keeping you up?"
The X-Forcer is just above a jogging pace right now, he'll sprint in a second. "You…probably don't want to know. Even though I do love hearing myself talk." Julian responds, keeping on in his exercise. Unbeknownst to Dallas, Julian's giving him a test, seeing if the new guy's got the guts to press the issue."
Dallas grunts at that. He continues to run, sweating somewhat more freely now and says, "You know, ever since I got here, people have not been able to just leave me alone. It's all 'do you want to talk?' and 'you should express yourself' and all that crap. So, you know, if you want to talk, cool. I'm not going anywhere. If not, cool. I could use company." He's panting by the time he finishes that little speech, since running and prolonged dialog don't work together but pride keeps him from turning down the speed to something more manageable. Especially in front of somebody who is practically a X-Man.
"What, you used to the normal 'I don't give a shit about you' mentality?" Julian asks, the pace of his voice is a bit altered than usual, but he's not panting quite yet. "It gets to me too, but I'm not a student anymore, so I don't hear it." Hellion looks to the New Mutant and asks simply. "What's your name?" Callsign, codename, whatever you call it, the name becomes a part of who you are, something that represents you, and Julian is a believer in that.
Dallas blinks with surprise and actually misses a step as Julian gives him the first 'guy' answer he's had all week. He grins even as he has to catch himself and use the sissy bars to either side of the control panel to keep himself on the treadmill for a moment. That pace is grueling now and his legs are burning. What started off as an 'easy' incline now feels like he's trying to charge up a cliff. "Specter." He takes another couple of breaths, "It's like a ghost, you know? Something scary in the dark. Something that /is/ coming to get you." Another pause for air. "And all the good 'shadow' names were taken."
Julian takes a moment to slow down a bit. "Specter, well, you don't become a shadow right, other than you just merge with it and become something better. So, Specter sounds just fine." His name himself stems more from his demeanor and honor than his power set. "Most names are power related, some are jokes, some are downright goofy and retarded, then there's the rare ones that are more than that, something better, something that can not only be you, but it also defines you." Julian isn't afraid to talk a bit inspirational every now and again, considering he's not in charge of a team anymore. "You can always recognize those right off the bat." He comments.
Dallas nods and says, "Yea. I'm still me, my shadow is …himself." He frowns faintly at that thought. Seeing Julian slow down, he tries to be casual as he cranks down his own treadmill to about half the current speed and manages to not /quite/ sigh in relief. "And yea, I've heard a couple that have made me think the person was on drugs." He pauses for a moment and says, "So does Hellion define you? And, um, do you think Specter is one of /those/ names?" The decrease in speed is causing his color and voice to go back to something a little less like a person about to die of a heart attack.
"Yeah…like Elastica, or Gauss." Julian looks to Dallas, this time pulling the emergency stop on the treadmill. As the machine stops, he looks at Dallas. "I took that name because one, I was allowed to choose mine, two, because someone I knew once lost something very dear to her. And to answer your question about how it defines me, that one is easy to find out." Every day since he was 16 he has silently tried to gain her approval, and that was a mess all of it's own. "That has yet to be seen." Is all Julian says on the subject of Specter.
Dallas also shuts down his machine, chest and stomach heaving and legs burning as it slows, slows and then stops. He leans on the control panel and as he wipes his forehead he smirks a bit as his own first choice for 'bad name' is mentioned. He nods as Julian basically tells Dallas to do his own homework and then gets a thoughtful, pensive look at the last statement and nods again after a moment. "Fair enough." He blows out a breath and then takes a seat on a weight bench nearby, stretching his legs out in front of himself with a faint grimace. "Dude. I needed to get here when you were still a student." He doesn't seem to be trying to curry favor, it's just a statement of fact. "I like these guys, yea, most of them. Some are scrubs and some are losers and a few are alright. But you're the closest thing to a regular guy I think I've met here." And then a slight smirk. "Grading on a curve."
"I think you'll find there are more of us around, you just gotta check out where to find them." Julian says, before sitting down next to him. "You shoulda been there, it was definitely a different time. I suggest you just keep your head right, don't let the others get to you, and do everything you can to get into X-Force." He says, though he's pretty sure that Dallas knows that. "I saw you cleaning the cafeteria earlier. Sucks man, but don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you hate it." He says in a low tone. Julian himself has been on that end of the punishment many times.
Dallas sighs and says, "Yea. I bet it was. Different that is." He pauses as Julian sits down and after a moment he says, "It's going to get worse than just the cafeteria, probably. I, um, kind of, got out of hand. With the same guy." He shakes his head. "I swear, I was just going to avoid him but he just /would not/ stop getting in my face. You'd think a telepath would know when you're serious about wanting to kill them." He looks over towards Julian, his expression gone grim. "I'm /trying/ to play it cool. I swear."
"You do realize that they will punish you from here to the end of the world, but expulsion is just something they wave in front of you to make you conform." Julian says, he's been through way more than his fair share of punishments. "That's the thing about telepaths, they can be your worst enemy, or your best friend." Julian also remembers that it's also one power that's harder to control than his own. So it may be easy to overload one. But that is just a theory.
Dallas grins at Julian, impish and cocky. "Seriously? What are they going to do to me that sucks worse than football practice with twenty guys twice my size in the middle of February? If I can survive that…." He trails off and then nods. "Yea. I'm thinking not my best friend. I'm just glad he's not on my squad." He frowns, "Yet." Another look over at Julian, "Just keep your head down, huh? I can try. But the truth is that I'm kind of used to having to work twice as hard and want it twice as much as everybody else." He gestures at his chest as though saying 'look at me'. "Though my dad says he got his last growth spurts late. So, hopefully I won't be a shrimp forever." He shakes his head, "That's one of the things that bugs me the most. No fire. No spirit. I hate seeing people coast. It makes me want to run right by them while they slide along on their butts like snails." Not exactly zoologically correct but the right idea is there.
"Did I say keep your head down? Does it look to you like I got where I am now by doing that?" Julian quips, "Hell no, do what you want. But make sure if you talk big game, you deliver big game. Never back down, someone gets in your face, you get right back in theirs." Julian talks big that's for sure, but he's also a very strong telekinetic. He even fights fair when the other person is as well. "Honestly, you're probably on the best squad for the hard working ones. As much as I hate to admit it, the Hellions aren't what they used to be. Now, you want to be an X-Man, go for it, but don't you fucking dare give it any less then your all. Not doing as much is only insulting to yourself."
Dallas grins widely at that first advice and then straightens up instinctively at Julian's tone on the last sentences. He nods and says, "Yea. Yea, I get that. And I won't." He nods to the young man and says, "Thanks." He stands and stretches and says, "The breakfast cleaning starts in like four hours. I should probably get /some/ sleep." A pause and then, "But it's good talking to you, dude. It's like a text message back from the land of sane people."
